Center for job seekers hosting open house

July 15, 2008

BENTON HARBOR -- The Opportunity Center will host a Community Open House from 3 to 5 p.m. July 25 at 960 Agard St., Suite 180 (located in the Mercy Center building). Guests may tour the training facility, enjoy delicacies prepared by culinary arts students and meet graduates whose lives have been changed by the program. The Opportunity Center is a nonprofit organization that has provided free academic and vocational training to more than 600 Benton Harbor residents since June 2007. Training includes literacy remediation, GED certification, and basic vocational training in hospitality, skilled trades, landscaping, and customer service. The goal of the organization is to prepare job seekers for entry-level employment within the tri-county region's in-demand industries. The Opportunity Center was established last summer by Michigan Works Berrien-Cass-Van Buren and Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights to provide free training resources for Benton Harbor jobseekers. "Most of the 17,000 job seekers we serve in our offices each year are work-ready and just need to search for jobs or spruce up their resumes," Todd Gustafson, executive director of Michigan Works!, said in a written statement. "But others need basic literacy skills and have little work experience. The Opportunity Center has been a great resource to transition job seekers who have been chronically unemployed into skilled applicants and valuable assets for local employers." Michigan Works is the primary investor in the Opportunity Center. Heartland Alliance, an Illinois-based, nonprofit organization advancing the human rights of people threatened by poverty or danger, staffs and delivers services at the Opportunity Center. This is Heartland Alliance's first Michigan-based project. Those interested in attending the open house are encouraged to RSVP by calling (269) 926-2430.